Aura Q for IKEA

Queuing for service has been a recurring concern for retail establishments; with over 89% of consumers choosing to leave a shop due to excessive waiting. To address the underlying issue, we developed a revolutionary queuing solution, Aura Q, that combines digital signage with direct visitor engagement by leveraging products from BrightSign. BrightSign is a global market leader in digital signage players. Headquartered in Los Gatos, California, BrightSign manufactures media players, that provides exceptional software and networking solutions for commercial digital signage, serving all vertical segments from retail businesses to government institutions worldwide.

We designed and built Beauti360; Hong Kong’s first and only mobile beauty directory. The product is packed with features, an all-in-one system for everything beauty related; from the latest news, product search to online purchases, you can do everything straight from your mobile. Beauti360 is powered by the Ionic framework, a cross platform application with a comprehensive content management system to deliver seamless manageability for beauti marketers. At its core, the app aims to provide an unparalleled mobile experience for beauty-goers in Hong Kong with an integrated social community, blogging support and streamlined payment. As well as building a platform to deliver professional reviews, building trust and improve transparency in the beauty industry.

IKEA approached us to integrate Aura Q into their brand-new location in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong. The client’s ideology with Aura Q was to eliminate queues within the store. Before our involvement, visitors have to wait in line with numbered tickets to gain access to customer service. IKEA sought to address this restriction to customer service by displaying the next customer service number on screens around the relevant department, and reinforcing this with voice announcements in store. With Aura Q, shoppers can now continue to browse whilst waiting to be seen anywhere within the store.

THE PRODUCT

Aura Q is a dynamic solution for queue management involving multiple kiosks, multiple displays and multiple points of engagement. Incredible scalability to expand to multiple locations and queue types. Easily adaptable in any existing retail systems.

1. Reduce queue times, serve more customers and improve operational efficiency
2. Ideal for short transactions and free queues, intuitive installation and deployment
3. Impress customers and visitors with efficient usage of technology
4. Leverage the ability to structure content, assign service and analyse service efficiencies with data
5. A dynamic solution with multiple touch points and flexible integrations
1. Audio, thermal printer, interactive displays, Bluetooth, language packs
2. Multiple display types, assign assets and show different information on different screens
6. Support multiple modes of operations
1. Linear – first-in-first-out, line service with multiple counters and personnel
2. Product Centric – multiple products, single output counter
3. Service Centric – multiple services with dedicated counters, facilitate multiple queues
7. Manage queues and improve flow, offer better displays for information and content
1. Transform the way your business serves your customers
2. Reshape interaction and eliminate irregularities from free queuing
3. Connectable 3rd party integrations, from payment gateways, social media, to way-finding and more

In a first-of-its kind installation delivered alongside South China House of Technology (SCHOT). Aura Q has been integrated into a network of 60 BrightSign units acting as customer service and digital signage nodes in IKEA Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong. The delivery of the concept involves the integration of multiple ticket printing kiosks with direct connection to the store’s backend server and sound system. The solution allows service announcements with digital signage playback on screens around the store in real-time.

OUR IMPACT

Aura Q at IKEA was a huge success; the system spans 4 floors and a total floor space of 90,000 square foot, offering seamless queuing for visitors anywhere in the store. The solution allows each visitor to roam freely while waiting in a virtual queue for service. Besides the direct benefit to better user experience. The solution also provides comprehensive data, allowing managers to have greater control over service flow and workforce assignments. By leveraging BrightSign, the client can easily integrate the solution seamlessly in daily operations in multiple retail locations. Ultimately, Aura Q at IKEA has helped them maximize service efficiencies, elevate staff productivity, while also improving customer experience across the board.

For more information and quotation of Aura Q, please contact us or visit Aura Q website